A Festival of Floral and Lace - Anne & Mark's Fun Tipi Wedding at Home

For their wedding day Anne and Mark did not want a formal theme, instead they wanted to focus entirely on their love for each other, and those who are nearest and dearest to them. In doing so, Anne and Mark had a seriously fun Tipi wedding at home with great company, great food, great music! Full of fun, flowers and festival vibes, today's wedding by D&H Photography is one you'll fall in love with...

First things first, let's find out how these love birds met! Anne fills us in on how she and Dublin lad Mark crossed paths…"My brother met his now wife, Trisha, in Gran Canaria in 2001. They parted ways, but kept in touch but then decided to give things a go in 2006. She ended up moving to Cumbria to be with my brother. In 2011 Mark decided to visit Trisha in Cumbria, where I lived, as they were old school friends. I was invited to a wedding in Dublin 5 weeks later and asked him if he would like to escort me to the wedding as he lived in Dublin. That is how our Ryanair-relationship started. I eventually moved to Dublin and now have two loves in my life. Mark and Dublin!"

Mark’s proposal captured a component of their relationship; travel. When Anne took time off from work in 2015, she traveled around the world. Mark met up with her in Vietnam and their adventures continued from there. Anne reflects on this day..."We got on this overnight train from Hanoi to Hue and I was in a bit of a grump because I thought it was the worst experience ever! We then got collected from the train station and arrived at this beautiful resort. We spruced ourselves up and went to dinner in the resort’s restaurant and then headed back to the cabin, I literally closed the door behind us and there was Mark with one knee on the ground, asking me to marry him. I was in total shock and managed to eventually say “OK” as I was full of so much emotion!"

He didn’t have a ring which was probably a wise idea as I am really fussy. Mark came back to Dublin and I went on to India where I fell in love with a ring instantly in Jaipur which became my engagement ring. It is really lovely to have a ring which reminds me of my travels.

Groom Mark had one request and that was having ice cream at the wedding...yum! Anne tells us, "He said he didn’t want to get married unless he got ice cream! So we got a man called Russell from The Alternative Guest to serve ice cream to our guests while photos were being taken." The perfect post ceremony treat for a Summer wedding.

When it came to finding the gown Anne could not find a dress she liked in any bridal boutiques but was inspired after seeing the idea of a top and a skirt on Instagram she decided to go the bespoke route. A family friend, Janet Madden of Furnishings and Frocks then designed and whipped up the bridal outfit of her dreams. Anne paired this with a beautiful bouquet and floral crown created by Roseberry Floral design, an old school friend of Anne's.

From the beginning, Anne was set on having a marquee wedding but her parents weren't so sure because of all the work involved. After lots of research, she came across tipis and fell in love. They provided the informal theme that they wanted their guests to feel and enjoy. The happy couple didn’t want a stereotypical wedding, instead Anne described it as a, “wedding not wedding”.

Anne explains why she choose to go for a tipi rather than a wedding venue, "I researched every hotel in Cumbria and none of them ticked the requirements. I didn’t want my guests to resent our venue for the price of drinks or how much it was going to cost them to stay there for the night as so many of our guests were travelling from Ireland and further abroad. During the internet research, I came across tipis and loved them immediately. When I actually saw one for someone else’s wedding then I knew right there and then we had to have this!

The couple filled the tipi with lots of florals, personal details and DIY items including these amazing table numbers and coasters cross stitched and crocheted by the bride, her grandma and a family friend.

Guests tucked into afternoon tea for the wedding breakfast, hog roast and fish and chips in the evening. Yum!

One of the many unique things about Anne and Mark’s reception that we spotted was that Anne said a few words during the speeches. She says, "it was a great opportunity to thank people publicly. The bride is one of the most important people, why can’t they say something on their wedding day?! "

Going on the new trend of snapchat filters, Anne and Mark purchased one from etsy and paid to have it to Snapchat. Anne fills us in, "you select an area and say how long you want to have it for. It was available for our guests to put at the bottom of their photos and videos. It roughly cost £30 in total for the etsy artwork and the Snapchat geofilter." How fun?! To encourage the Snapchat fun, the couple provided selfie sticks on the tables for guests. Perfect for all you snapchat addicts!

The couple share their honest advice for those planning their own wedding, "throw the rule book out of the window! There is no law to say there should be a three course meal at weddings or you have to be chauffeur driven to the church. Mark and I would have loved burritos for a wedding breakfast but they are a bit messy. Also a shortage of burrito caterers in Cumbria!"

Also when our first choice for a VW campervan company said they were booked up that day then I started to think outside the box and contacted Rainbow Camper Hire and found a better solution where we had it for longer so don't be too set on one idea/provider as adversity is indeed the mother of invention. We also slept inside the VW on the night of the wedding!

Congratulations to the happy couple and thank you so much for sharing your special day with us all. A big thanks to Inspired by D&H Weddings for sharing their photos with us. To see more from D&H Weddings visit http://www.dh-photography.co.uk/